Abstract
BackgroundFamily environment is crucial to the development of health behaviors into adolescence and adulthood. The aims of this study were (1) to explore the reliability of the General Functioning Scale (GFS) among Norwegian 13-15-year-olds, and (2) to assess whether family functioning reported by adolescents was associated with family dinner frequency.MethodsIn total 440 secondary-school students were invited to participate in this cross-sectional web-based questionnaire survey, with 54 participating in the test-retest study. Test-retest and internal consistency were assessed for the 12-item GFS-scale. Associations between family functioning and family dinner frequency were tested using multiple logistic regression.ResultsThe GFS had high internal consistency (corrected item-total correlations ranging from 0.40 to 0.65, Cronbach’s α = 0.85), and excellent test–retest reliability (intra-class correlation coefficient = 0.83). In the logistic regression model, a higher score on GFS (poorer family functioning) was associated with a reduced likelihood of having dinner together on a daily basis (i.e., 6–7 times per week, OR = 0.36, CI = 0.20–0-64) after adjusting for age, gender, ethnicity, living situation and parental education level.ConclusionsThe GFS had high reliability. As poorer family functioning was associated with less frequent family dinners, the family environment may be an important (contextual) target to influence adolescent health behaviors. It would be of interest to further explore the role of family functioning in relation to adolescents’ dietary habits, besides shared family meals, and to reveal the mechanisms underlying such relationships.
Highlights
Environment is crucial to the development of health behaviors into adolescence and adulthood
An American study [6] highlights that it is important to identify whether, and how, family functioning is associated with other behavioral outcomes, like family meals
According to a systematic review by Harrison et al [8], frequent family meals are inversely associated with negative behaviors and positively related to increases of self-esteem and school success
Summary
Environment is crucial to the development of health behaviors into adolescence and adulthood. The family and the home environment are important settings for influencing and shaping children’s and youths’ eating habits [3]. Factors such as Hausken et al Nutrition Journal (2019) 18:20 intake, lack of physical activity, disordered eating, sedentary behavior and low breakfast frequency [5, 6]. An American study [6] highlights that it is important to identify whether, and how, family functioning is associated with other behavioral outcomes, like family meals. According to a systematic review by Harrison et al [8], frequent family meals are inversely associated with negative behaviors (e.g., disordered eating, alcohol, substance use) and positively related to increases of self-esteem and school success. How family meals are related to family functioning is, yet to be determined
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